Curriculum
Scotland is currently pursuing its biggest education reform programme for a generation under the Scottish Government’s Ambitious, Excellent Schools agenda.
The Curriculum for Excellence is central to this reform agenda.
It aims to provide:
• More freedom for teachers
• Greater choice and opportunity for pupils
• A single coherent curriculum for all young people aged 3-18.
Curriculum for Excellence challenges us to think differently about the curriculum. It encourages those working in education to plan and act in new ways.
The curriculum for Excellence wants all young people to become:
A Curriculum for Excellence is organised into four contexts for learning: -
· Life and ethos of the school as a community
· Curriculum areas and subjects
· Interdisciplinary learning
· Opportunities for personal achievement.
In St Francis of Assisi, we plan for every context to ensure a well balanced approach to learning at every stage. We plan and assess every curricular area and have built opportunities for pupil choice across all stages and curricular areas. Pupils are taught through relevant topics which are responsive to pupil needs and interests.
Literacy
As a result of the Scottish National Debate on Education (2002), A Curriculum for Excellence has become an integral part of the improvement agenda in Scottish Education.
Through participative, active classes pupils develop the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes they need to learn about the world around them.
The development of literacy skills plays an important role in all learning.
In St. Francis of Assisi Primary we give our pupils varied opportunities to:
- Communicate, collaborate and build relationships
- Reflect on and explain literacy and thinking skills, using feedback to help improve and sensitively provide useful feedback for others.
- Engage with and create a wide range of texts in different media, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by ICT.
- Develop an understanding of what is special, vibrant and valuable about own and other cultures and their languages.
- Explore the richness and diversity of language, how it can affect the pupil and the wide range of ways in which they can be creative.
- Extend and enrich vocabulary through listening, talking, watching and reading.
A variety of resources are used to support writing and ensure progress throughout the school. Children are given the opportunity to write within the context of:
Personal Writing experiences and feelings
Imaginative Writing imagined people and events
Functional Writing instructions, letters, posters and reports
‘Big Writing’ is a resource which helps us develop excellent writing skills in all pupils. This resource is used throughout the school to great effect and pupils produce extended pieces of writing that we share and celebrate.
Literacy is a core subject which is taught through every other curricular area.
Numeracy and Mathematics
Children come to Primary 1 with some informal experience of
“mathematics” and their knowledge can range from knowing
simple terms like big and small, to being able to identify shapes
or do simple counting. Throughout school, the teacher sets out to
give children the skills they will need to solve problems as well
as those concepts, facts and techniques they will require to use in mathematical enquiries.
Our programme of study allows for a broad, well-balanced maths programme which gives children the opportunity to work with aspects of:
- Number, money and measurement e.g. Addition, subtraction,
- Length, Weight Shape, position and movement e.g. Angles, coordinates
- Information handling e.g. Tally marks, graphs, tables and charts
- Problem solving in real life, everyday or in imagined contexts
At present children in P4 – P7 are participating in interactive Maths while using the Heinemann and Teejay Maths schemes to enhance and support learning and teaching. Our infants take part in multi-sensory, interactive workshops where they practise their maths skills in exciting, challenging contexts.
Technologies and ICT
All children become familiar with computer skills in St Francis of Assisi. At the infant stages this involves using simple programmes to give the children experience with the keyboard. As the children progress through the school they will be introduced to word processing and computer work will be integrated into all aspects of the curriculum.
The school has an good selection of software covering all aspects of the curriculum. We have PC’s in each classroom plus a fully equipped ICT
suite. We have interactive SMARTboards throughout the school which enhance the learning experiences of our pupils.
Health & Well-Being, Expressive Arts
A Curriculum for Excellence recognises that the curriculum extends beyond the traditional study areas and subjects.
The curriculum should therefore include:
- Learning through the ethos and life of the school as a community.
- Learning through interdisciplinary projects and studies and through opportunities for personal achievement.
Thus, A Curriculum for Excellence recognises the importance of learning that takes place outside the classroom, such as the educational benefits of effective interaction between the school and its wider community.
(Scottish Executive Education Dept 2004)
A variety of craft materials are used to encourage as wide a range of skills and techniques to be to be developed as possible. Displays of artwork and friezes can be seen in classrooms and corridor/open areas. Children are invited to enter local and national competitions whenever possible.
Children are given the opportunity to experience all aspects of music:
• Listening for enjoyment
• Singing
• Rhythm
• Pitch
As well as the enjoyment of singing, the pupils are also taught to play percussion instruments. Every year we perform a Nativity play and we produce a whole school show.
Our P3 pupils receive musically training from YMI (Youth Music Initiative) teachers.
We use Glasgow P.E. Guidelines. And have a number of professional coaches to enhance P.E. P.E. lessons cover aspects of
• Gymnastics
• Games skills
• Dance
• Athletics
· Basketball
The school boasts a very good Football team. Pupils in P7 receive swimming 13 weeks of Swimming lessons at Tollcross Pool.
Social Studies
Social studies provides a wealth of opportunity to support interdisciplinary learning as Building the Curriculum 3 states that ‘The curriculum should include space for learning beyond subject boundaries, so that children and young people can make connections between different areas of learning. Interdisciplinary studies, based upon groupings of experiences and outcomes from within and across curriculum areas, can provide relevant, challenging and enjoyable learning experiences and stimulating contexts to meet the varied needs of children and young people.
Revisiting a concept or skill from different perspectives deepens understanding and can also make the curriculum more coherent and meaningful from the learner’s point of view. Interdisciplinary studies can also take advantage of opportunities to work with partners who are able to offer and support enriched learning experiences and opportunities for young people’s wider involvement in society.’
Sciences
Religious Education and Observance
The Religious Education of children is a partnership between the home, the school and the Parish. Your role as parents is the most important of the partnership because it is your example which will have the most lasting effect on your children.
Religious Education forms a daily part of every class and the school has School Masses on regular occasions and assemblies are held weekly, throughout the school year. Whilst recognising the right of parents to withdraw their children from Religious Education and Religious observance in school, we would expect parents who choose to send their children to a Catholic school to recognise the implications of that decision. Parents therefore are expected to accept the Catholic traditions observed in this school and their children should attend all religious instruction and observance.
We are fortunate in our close proximity to St Francis of Assisi Parish Church and, the children attend services regularly. Monsignor McIntyre is a regular and most welcome visitor in the school.
The school follows This Is Our Faith programme as prescribed by the Diocese of Motherwell and Glasgow.
Parents from ethnic minority religious communities may request that their children be permitted to be absent from school in order to celebrate recognised events. Any such requests must be put in writing.
Promoting Positive Behaviour
St Francis of Assisi Primary is committed to Glasgow’s City Council inclusion policy. We work hard to develop strategies which help all pupils behave and enable them to access the curriculum.
We take a Solution Focused approach to behaviour management and encourage all pupils to take responsibility for their actions with many strategies in place to support them.
At St Francis of Assisi Primary we have introduced a whole school approach to enhancing self– esteem and promoting positive behaviour and relationships within the school. All of the children and adults are involved and we hope that you will become involved too by encouraging your child to follow our Golden Rules.
The Golden Rules are the key to the whole approach. They outline the behaviours that show respect and caring towards one another. The Golden Rules are displayed in classrooms and throughout the school
The six Golden Rules are:
We are gentle—Do not hurt anybody
We are kind and helpful—Do not hurt people’s feelings
We work hard—Do not waste your or other people’s time
We look after property– Do not waste or damage things
We listen to people - Do not interrupt
We are honest—Do not cover up the truth
We have four Houses with a Captain, Vice-Captain and Pupils receive house points for good behaviour throughout the school and the winning house wins rewards each week/term. House Assemblies take place on a monthly basis which focuses on good behaviour and pupil achievements.
Our staff are highly trained in Behaviour management strategies and children will receive a consistent approach to discipline throughout their time in St Francis of Assisi.
We celebrate success, achievements both in and out of school and we recognise improvements by pupils. Our Stars of the Month are displayed in the main hall with classes celebrating individual achievements with their own reward schemes.
Attendance is monitored and 100% attendance is reward with individual recognition.
Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting to Parents
Record Keeping
Continuous on-going assessment takes place throughout the school.
There is formal assessment of progress in the main subject areas, such as Phonics, Reading, Mathematics and spoken and written language, which are in line with and a Curriculum for Excellence. Class records show not only the stage of development but the child’s attitude to his/her work, any problem areas encountered and any special aptitudes which should be encouraged and developed. We hope to provide an all round profile on the child which reflects his/her aptitudes and personality.
Written Report
An end of year written report is sent to parents in June. A copy of these together with assessment sheets will be kept in the pupil’s progress record.
Parents Evening
In June each year Progress Reports are issued and several parents’ evenings are held during the school year, September and March/April.
Parents may also make an appointment outside of these times if they have an urgent need to discuss their child’s welfare or reports with the class teacher.
Please be assured you are always welcome to visit the school at any time if you have any other matter you wish to discuss. Please phone the school office to make an appointment.
Formative Assessment
What is taught and what is learnt are rarely the same. Effective assessment can reduce the margin between what is taught and what is learnt and thereby increase pupil achievement.
Our aims are to identify the strengths/ weakness of each child, improve attainment and promote the shared Gospel values which is the foundation on which our school functions.
Homework
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Year Group
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Time Allocation
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Homework
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Primary 1
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15 Minutes per evening
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Daily Reading
Occasional Maths/sounds
Active maths and language games
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Primary 2 & 3
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15/20 minutes per evening
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Daily Reading
Weekly Spelling
Occasional Maths
Active maths and language games
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Primary 4 & 5
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15/20 minutes per evening
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Daily Reading
Active Spelling
Maths
Topic related activities
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Primary 6 & 7
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20/30 minutes per evening
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Reading
Weekly Spelling
Maths
Topic related activities
Independent Research
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At present we are reviewing our Homework Policy to offer pupils a wider range of experiences to enhance the four capacities and A Curriculum for Excellence.